Lenovo ThinkPad 8 review

Meet the most powerful 8-inch Windows tablet

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The Lenovo ThinkPad 8 is the most powerful Windows 8.1 tablet to come out in 8-inch space. With its metal shell, 1920 x 1200 display, and strong CPU, it's the also the most attractive 8-inch Windows slate out there. But at the same time, it touts the shortest battery life and the biggest price tag, the latter of which sending the machine into luxury status.

We liked

The higher-resolution screen is by far the biggest selling point that makes the ThinkPad 8 stand above the rest of the competition. It's not just more pixel dense. The display simply looks gorgeous with vibrant color and plenty of contrast to show off those deep blacks.

Plus, the high-powered, 2.4Ghz Intel Atom Z3770 processor finally lets a tablet in this class multitask with ease. Where the Dell Venue 8 Pro and Acer Iconia W4 crunched under the weight of multiple apps or even one intensive desktop program, the ThinkPad 8 stands tall.

We disliked

But all that extra power isn't without its cost. The ThinkPad 8 is also by far the most power-hungry 8-inch Windows tablet. It still has enough charge power through a daily commute, but be prepared to plug in or carry an external battery for anything longer than a domestic flight.

I was also completely disheartened by the buggy camera. It's one thing to have a camera that produces subpar images, it's another ordeal for it to crash the device. The ThinkPad 8 also just feels like its missing a lot of functionality to succeed as work machine. While fine for reading documents, it's a hassle to edit them with just a virtual keyboard – this is especially true of spreadsheets.

Final verdict

The Lenovo ThinkPad 8 is a big step up for the 8-inch class of Windows 8.1 tablets. It's the first with a higher-resolution screen and a faster chip capable of running several desktop applications at once without lag.

But, like a baby, it's bound to stumble at first. If only there were less damning bugs than a camera that crashes the entire device. (That said, this could be fixed completely through a patch.)

Sure, the ThinkPad 8 is pricier than most tablets in its class. But if you're a Windows fan, this high-end tablet is well worth the extra cash.

This 8.3" multimode tablet features the best offerings from Lenovo, Microsoft, and Intel combined into one productive, mobile, secure device with faster graphics and three modes: Tablet, Desktop, and Tent.